Jacob, 102517 KYAGO, AGO OAG17-25

• Case Date: October 25, 2017
• Court: Kentucky

Jeff D. Jacob, Fayette County Constable, District #1 AGO OAG17-25 No. OAG17-025 Kentucky Attorney General Opinions Commonwealth of Kentucky Office of the Attorney General October 25, 2017          Subject: Constables' participation in the County Employees Retirement System.          Requested by: Jeff D. Jacob, Fayette County Constable, District #1          Written by: Sam Flynn          Syllabus: The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government is not required to permit Constables to participate in the County Employees Retirement System.          Statutes construed: KRS 78.510, KRS 78.540.          OAGs cited: OAG 90-85, OAG 90-133, OAG 95-11, OAG 91-175, OAG 74-257, OAG 74-43.           OPINION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL          Jeff D. Jacob, Fayette County Constable, District #1, has requested an opinion from this office on whether or not the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government ("LFUCG") must permit constables to participate in the County Employees Retirement System ("CERS"). We advise that LFUCG is not required to permit constables to participate in CERS.          The County Employees Retirement System is governed by KRS 78.510 et seq. By statute, membership in CERS "shall consist of ...[a]ll persons who becomes employees of a participating county after the date such county first participates in the system..." KRS 78.540(1) (emphasis added). Our opinion turns upon the applicable definitions of these two terms.          First, constables are not part of the "county" as that term is defined for CERS purposes. See KRS 78.510(3). The definition of "county" in this context is broader than the normal meaning of the term and includes several additional entities and some constitutional officers. Id. Specifically, the definition includes:

1) Any county; and

2) A nonprofit organization created and governed by a county, counties, or elected county officers; and

3) The sheriff and his employees; and

4) The county clerk and his employees; and

5) The circuit clerk and his deputies, former circuit clerks, and former circuit clerk

...